1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to transmissions, and in particular to modular transmissions for work vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Work vehicles, such as agricultural and construction equipment, usually require transmissions providing a high number of gear ratios. The exact number of ratios, and the actual ratios required, vary from situation to situation.
The total sales volume for any given situation may not be large. This means that designing and manufacturing an appropriate transmission just for a single situation would be prohibitively expensive. Accordingly, it is desirable to design transmissions in a modular fashion, so that various components can be assembled in different fashions to meet the needs of a particular situation.
While the broad concept of modularity is known, the particular modules used and the degree to which a transmission is modular varies tremendously. Most modules merely constitute add-on features to a basic transmission, e.g., adding a hi-low planetary at the end of a standard transmission.